1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to access control systems and more particularly to reporting activity on an access control system.
2. Background Description
Apartment buildings, office buildings, condominium complexes, gated residential communities, industrial parks and other secured locations often include an entrance access control system. One type of access control system, known as a telephone entry system (TES), provides building security as well as tenant access control to a particular building, apartment complex, etc. The access control system controls entry at one or more other building entry points, e.g., doors, garage doors, etc. A typical access control system includes a main control unit located at a primary entrance and, depending on the size of the structure or area being monitored, additional remote units may be provided to control remotely located doors. The access control system may also monitor the connected entry points for unauthorized access. For a TES type access control system visitors wishing to enter the building/complex contact tenants or other building personnel over the TES, that are capable of admitting the visitor by remotely unlocking the entrance, e.g., from the tenant""s apartment.
The main control unit controls the main building entrance and may include a keypad and auto-dialer and be connected to a public telephone line. Remote units, typically communicate with the main unit to provide remote access to authorized personnel. The main unit can identify tenants seeking entry by a personal access code, authorize entry, monitor for unauthorized entry at the remote doors, etc. A tenant directory may be displayed on the control unit itself or on an adjacent sign. The directory includes tenant codes that are corresponding directory code numbers for each person, business or for other entities in the building (e.g., corporate departments, business employees, or other building tenants) authorized to unlock the entrances.
When a visitor enters a tenant code into the keypad, the main control unit automatically dials the corresponding tenant""s telephone number. Then, the called tenant has an opportunity to establish the identity of the visitor. The tenant, using the same everyday telephone upon which the call was received, unlocks the entrance, e.g., by pressing a predetermined number on the telephone keypad.
Some state of the art access control systems generate alarm calls under various conditions. If the access control system senses the door it has control over is forced open, an alarm call may be generated. If the same door is opened by the access control system but fails to close after a specified amount of time, an alarm call may be generated. Occasionally, someone may randomly enter codes at the keypad in the hope of discovering an entry code. To prevent this, a count of the number of invalid sequential codes may be maintained. If a maximum false entry count is met, an alarm call may be generated.
Normally, an alarm call is made by dialing a telephone number and, then, periodically beeping until the person answering the call presses a digit on a dual tone multifrequency (DTMF) telephone. A next level of alarm call may be voice. At this level the system states xe2x80x9cALARM DOOR 1.xe2x80x9d Again, the alarm process is terminated in response to pressing a digit from the answering telephone. The next alarm call level is a modem call. At this level the access control system uses the modem to call another modem and then, transmits a detailed description of the alarm call. The originating modem identifies the originating unit experiencing the alarm condition.
Some access control systems may log entries/exits or a number of other selected events. Typically, a history log, e.g., of the last 2000 such events, may be maintained in system memory. Should the need arise to review authorized and/or unauthorized building entries, such a history log may prove to be an invaluable tool, provided the events of interest remain in memory. Often, the event log may be too short to contain enough history to establish a telltale trend, e.g., relating the comings and goings of a single missing tenant of a 200 tenant complex.
Periodically saving a printed log for storage may just present the complex manager with another apparently unnecessary task. Unnecessary, that is, until that one event occurs where reviewing the logs is a priority. It may be very tempting, rather than collecting the printouts and sending them to storage, to just throw printouts into the trash, thinking no one will ever notice.
Thus, there is a need for a way to automatically send system alarm calls and other log information to the proper authorities or other authorized personnel for attention, processing and/or storage.
It is a purpose of the present invention to facilitate access control system long term record retention;
It is another purpose of the invention to automatically provide access control system history for storage to selected remote locations.
The present invention is an access control system such as a telephone entry system (TES) capable of seamlessly transmitting facsimile log reports to remote locations for storage. Alarms are selected such that upon an occurrence of an alarm, the access control system will send a fax to a selected phone number, sending information about the alarm situation and, for example, all the transaction information within system memory. Alarm situations may include, for example, a set number of transactions, a specific person accessed, a code being used, a specific time of day, a specific passage of time since the last alarm situation, a door staying open, and/or a door being forced open. Log information may be sent to an office located in a building that is remote from the access control system. This information may be sent in a standard (fax) format to any location around the world.
Advantageously, faxing the alarm information allows using standard communications over potentially long distances.